After more than 25 years away, actress Rena Sofer returned to “General Hospital” in October 2023 as Lois Cerullo, but it looks like her time as a contract player in Port Charles has concluded. According to a recent update to the show’s credits, Sofer appears in the recurring section following perennial list leader James Patrick Stuart (Valentin Cassadine).
Although Sofer is now on recurring status, there is no official indication that she’s about to exit the series anytime soon, despite saying in a Soap Opera Digest interview that she agreed to return for a short period of time after getting a text message from the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini, who had reached out to see if she’d be interested in reprising the role of Lois so that her character might help Ned (Wally Kurth) with regaining his memory after thinking he was Eddie Maine again.
“It just really seemed like an absolutely perfect time to have Lois come back for a short amount of time to try to get Eddie to remember that he’s Ned,” Sofer told Digest at the time. “So Frank reached out to me and asked me if I’d be willing to come back for a short amount of time and I said yes.”
That said, Sofer did say in a separate interview with the Associated Press that she was planning a move to the East Coast, albeit without providing a specific timeline, and noted her “General Hospital” return would mark one of her final acting jobs in Los Angeles.
Christine Bartolucci/Disney
“My husband and I are planning a move to the East Coast and, you know, I just thought, when I moved here, one of my first big jobs was ‘General Hospital,’ and it just felt very full circle for one of my last jobs in Los Angeles while I live here to be ‘General Hospital’ and doing this character that I love so much,” said Sofer to the AP.
Other actors appearing on a recurring basis while still retaining story include Lynn Herring (Lucy Coe), Jon Lindstrom (Dr. Kevin Collins), Bradford Anderson (Damian Spinelli), Lydia Look (Selina Wu), Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault), Jacqueline Grace Lopez (Blaze), Kristen Vaganos (Molly Lansing-Davis), Stephen A. Smith (Brick) and even Michael E. Knight, among others. However, in the case of Knight, the actor was recently reported to have “temporarily” exited Port Charles as Martin Grey.
Unlike the contract cast list, the recurring cast changes based on those performers who appeared during the most recent week’s worth of shows. For instance, despite their characters “leaving town” or “dying,” Evan Hofer and Nicholas Chavez are still on contract at the show as Dex Heller and Spencer Cassadine, respectively. Meanwhile, Avery Kristen Pohl was removed from the cast list several weeks ago, indicating she is not returning as the supposedly deceased character, Esme Prince.
There are 33 contract actors at “General Hospital” as of the most recent update, with several dozen recurring performers. The series has one of the largest casts (contract and recurring) among the four remaining daytime drama series.
As per network policy, ABC does not comment on actor contracts.
Before returning to “General Hospital,” Sofer spent nine years as Quinn Fuller on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” with her character abruptly leaving the canvas in late August 2002.
In announcing her exit from the CBS soap on Instagram at the time, Sofer said, “I know it’s heartbreaking for some and it is for me as well, but it’s time for me to move on with both my acting career and my pottery career. Thank you all for your support over the last 9 years and in the future! And check out Renasoferceramics.com for the other side of my life!!”
Sofer won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Lois Cerullo on “General Hospital.” She left the series in 1997.
“I played Lois for just under three years and I still have people walking up to me saying, ‘Lois is my favorite.’ I’m proud of who she is. I’m proud to have played her. I just love Lois,” said Sofer of the character she began playing in 1993 to the AP. “If Lois were a real human being, I would hope she’d want to be my friend.”